Cruel World
by Kittencutie
Summary: AU Secrets. There were so many secrets. But like all secrets, they can’t be kept forever. No matter how long it takes, every unknown truth will be learned, and when that happens, the consequences for most will be despairing. New version
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of the characters. The only thing I own is…uhh…nothing really, so…yea…**_

Ok everybody, here's the promised remake. There have been many changes to it, and I hope you like it. I'm sorry for those of you who liked how the story already was, but I with the older version I just couldn't see the end of the story. If any of you remember me complaining about my English teacher, I admit, she helped me with my writing some. When I started this story I didn't think of the ending and because of that, it didn't have one. So, I rewrote this story. Kagome is still Akiro, so no worries there, its just pretty much the plot that has changed.

oh and just for a helpful reminder, if you want to understand a few things about what i plan with Cruel World and this new version, just read my account. I try to update it as much as i can, and i put the date of the post, so yea...it's just something for you to understand my way of thinking...it doesn't really matter though, just thought it might help some.

Well anyways, here's the new summary of the story.

(AU)Secrets. There were so many secrets. But like all secrets, they can't be kept forever. No matter how long it takes, every unknown truth will be learned, and when that happens, the consequences for most will be despairing.

* * *

**Chapter 1**

_Everyone has things they don't want people to know about. Some have abusive parents, others have no parents. Some have/had drug problems; others are clean as a whistle. No matter what it is, big or small, we usually just keep it to ourselves, locking it inside, hoping and not hoping that no one will ever find out about it. _

_Don't think I'm talking of everybody else, because when I say everyone, I do include myself. To not include myself would just be denial of the truth. So, I admit, I have dark secrets, but secrets I'm just not ready to tell. Sooner or later, though, I'll have to, to save all the ones I love._

* * *

"Kagome!"

"What?!"

"Hurry up! School is going to be starting soon!"

"Gosh, Souta….If you would stop buggin' me then maybe I won't take so long!"

"Yea, whatever! Just hurry up!"

The seventeen year old rolled her eyes and went back to looking at the selection of clothes that she chose to wear. '_Well…at least I don't have to wear a uniform like I did last year, when we still lived in Japan .Even though I liked the black, the thing was hecka itchy! I guess America does have some perks to it…'_ Thinking of the awful outfit sent chills down her spine, and she thanked who ever responsible for allowing her to dress in what she wanted.

Kagome sighed. Well, it wasn't exactly what she REALLY wanted to wear, but it was close enough. The black, baggy cargo pants and the men's large black shirt was her outfit, with black skate shoes and wrist sweat band, was definitely better than some school uniform.

Sighing once more, she grabbed her backpack and headed out of her room to meet her brother downstairs.

'_Let's get this over with…' _

With that thought, she headed out the door, towards the all-boys school where both she and her brother were attending.

* * *

A gust of wind blew by, moving the short black hair into the girls face. Even if the cut did look good on her, she was still pissed that she didn't have her long black locks any more. It took her forever to grow it out as long as it had been, which was a little past her hips. Now, though, it didn't even touch her shoulders, just a few inches below her ears. '_Damn him…this is his entire fault…' _She thought bitterly.

The siblings stood outside their new school, both dreading the days to come. They were used to changing schools every 3 years or so, all because HE kept finding her. Wishful thinking had her hope that she'd be able to finish high school before He showed up again. Kagome knew that a different country, school, and name would definitely keep him searching for a longer time, but she wasn't sure on how long.

She mentally shook her head, knowing it wasn't the time to think of _him_ and what he did to her. Sighing out loud, she looked up at her new school and the people outside. Kagome rolled her eyes, noticing the different groups, and how cliché the whole place was, even if it was just an all-boys school. She could already point out the jocks and preps, the Goths and punks, as well as the nerds and the misfits.

What surprised her, though, was that she could distinctly see multiple demons in all the groups. Back in Japan, there had been separate schools for demons and half demons from the humans. Seeing them all together was sort of weird for her. Glancing at her brother, she could tell he noticed as well, by the shocked expression on his face.

Nudging Souta in the arm, she motioned towards the front doors. He understood, and they headed towards them, making sure not to glance around at the groups and their posse, even when most conversations stopped to stare at them. After going through the doors of the school, it wasn't any different from outside.

Ignoring the curious looks, they walked into the office. Once inside there, they went up to the counter and waited for the woman behind it to look up from her computer. The woman's glasses were riding down her pointed nose, her old wrinkles of her face looking more prominent with her frowning, and her forehead pulled tight because of her constricted looking bun in her hair.

'_She looks like one of those exaggerated cartoon drawings you see of the rich and the British.'_ Kagome giggled mentally, trying hard not to smile at her thought. It seemed that Souta had the same idea, but wasn't able to control himself, and snickered almost silently, but still loud enough for the woman to look up and glare at him, before raising an eyebrow. Kagome knew by the look she wanted to know what they wanted, and so started to talk.

"Hi. I'm Akiro Shizukana and this is my brother Haku. We're the new students from Japan." Souta winced slightly at his chosen "undercover" name, as he dubbed it when we were thinking of them a few weeks ago. We had to create a whole new identity because of Him.

They spend two whole months just calling each other their "undercover" names. They didn't want any slip ups at all. This was the first school they decided they should change their names, and the first to be at an all-boys school. With all that they were doing to keep hidden, they knew that any mistakes that were made may ruin everything they had planned.

Pursuing her lips, the secretary turned back to the computer. "Hmm…Ah, yes. You will report to your homeroom when the bell rings." Clicking a few times, she turns to the printer on the left and grabs the finished papers, and hands them to Kagome. "These are your schedules for the rest of the school year, and if you want to change anything talk to your counselor, their names are on the bottom." She reached under counter to a hidden compartment, and grabbed two small, blue pieces of paper. Writing down something she handed them over to them, and continued explaining. "When you go to your classes after homeroom, give your teacher that paper, and they'll know what to do." Turning back to her computer, she said in a bored and dismissing tone, "Welcome to Takeshi High for Boys."

The siblings looked at each other, shrugged, and headed out the door, and to their homeroom. Since it was ordered by last name and not grade they had the same classroom to go to.

They still got the curious looks and the sudden silence once they re-entered the hall, but they still ignored it. Kagome noted without much interest, the different things posted up on the walls, like dances that were being held with a nearby all-girls school, different fundraisers for the clubs, and a few mentioning about some upcoming school spirit assembly.

Unfortunately, because Kagome was distracted by the posters, she didn't see the person walking in front of her. "Akiro!" She heard Souta say beside her, but didn't look up until it was too late.

"Oof," she grunted, as she ran into the muscled chest in front of her. Stumbling back, she looked up at the guy she bumped into, and almost gasped.

_'Oh...my...gosh..._' She thought, as her gaze met those golden orbs. They were like molten lava, the fire in them was so intense, that Kagome almost had the urge to fan herself.

"Watch where you're going, Shorty." Her lava god said.

Glaring harder at him, she looked him up and down, which looked to him like she was sizing him up, when she was actually checking him out. Starting at his black shoes, past his jeans that were actually on his hips instead of halfway down is butt, to his rock hard chest covered in a plain colored black shirt, and to the top of his head, where two cute dog ears sat twitching towards any sound that was made in the silent hall. Again, Kagome had to control herself for doing anything stupid or embarrassing, seeing as how she felt like cooing at his puppy ears.

Once she was done, she looked back into the lava that was his eyes. "You're one to talk, seeing as how you also bumped into me...dog boy." '_That's what he gets for callin' me short, the jerk.' _

He widened his eyes slightly at the supposed nickname. The guys behind him did the same, except one, who stood to 'dog boys' right. He just sighed and rolled his eyes, slightly shaking his head. He took a step forward, and stood in between Kagome and the Lava god, putting his hands up to their chest to push them apart more. "It was both your fault...now let's just go to class. The bell is about to ring, anyways."

Kagome glanced at him, and couldn't help but notice his also buff looking body covered in a tight purple shirt and the same jeans her Lava god had on. His short black hair was pulled back into a ponytail at the nape of his neck, and he had two piercing in his left ear. He also had violet eyes that were softer appearing than that of his friend with the burning gold. Just by looking at him, Kagome could tell he was somewhat of a smooth talker, and maybe even a player, just by the small bruises on his cheek that were probably caused by multiple slaps.

Kagome looked back at the guy in front of her, who still hadn't gotten rid of his scowl on his face. She rolled her eyes and turned back to her brother, nodding forward. Souta started walking, with Kagome right behind him. When she passed by the Lava god, she glared at him from the corner of her eye.

Once they past the small group in the middle of the hallway, the previously quiet hall filled with voices once more. Kagome could somewhat hear the voice of the 'purple dude', over the rest of the student body, as he talked to her lava god. "You're so stupid, sometimes, InuYasha. Did you not notice the holy power coming off of him? If you had pushed him far enough he could have purified your ass. Not only that, but what if the coach found out you got into a fight? You'd be sitting on the bench for a month."

The Lava god, or formally mentioned as Inuyasha, just grunted. "Keh...You worry too much, Miroku. What the coach doesn't know won't hurt him...besides I doubt that little pipsqueak could have hurt me anyways."

Clenching her backpack strap, she tried to hear what Miroku said in reply, but their group had started walking after that and was to far a way for her to eavesdrop on.

'_Pipsqueak, am I? I'll show that mutt who the short one is...I just might knock him down a few pegs because of that comment...'_

* * *

Hoped you liked the first chapter. There is actually more to it but I decided to just to put this up first to see what type of respond i get from it. The next update will be the rest of the chapter and maybe chapter two as well. That I'm not so sure on, though, because of the small amount of time i have before I loose contact with my computer, when i leave for Utah. So yea...I'll try though.

Review please!

KC


	2. Chapter 2

_**Disclaimer: It's in Chapter one, and if you're too lazy to look back at it, then fine, I DON'T OWN INUYASHA! But boy do I want to…**_

I'm so sorry, that's been almost a year since I updated last. Not just life attacked me (meaning school and social life), but also evil demons that decided to kill my computer. My computer, that had the second, and almost finished third chapter on it for Cruel World, crashed. I was so mad! I lost so much personal information, and all my story chapters, including my old version of Cruel World, so I'm not sure if I'll be able to finish that version or not. Ugh…so that's the main reason for my absence. Frustration for having to redo everything, depression for losing a lot of my personal interests, and patience for a new computer to replace the old all held me back from continuing this story.

Well, I still don't have a new computer (having to take over my moms for the time being), but I decided that I wasn't going to wait any longer to continue this. My readers deserve to know that I'm still alive, so I'm proving it with the second (redone) chapter of Cruel World.

* * *

**Recap:**

Kagome looked back at the guy in front of her, who still hadn't gotten rid of his scowl on his face. She rolled her eyes and turned back to her brother, nodding forward. Souta started walking, with Kagome right behind him. When she passed by the Lava god, she glared at him from the corner of her eye.

Once they past the small group in the middle of the hallway, the previously quiet hall filled with voices once more. Kagome could somewhat hear the voice of the 'purple dude', over the rest of the student body, as he talked to her lava god. "You're so stupid, sometimes, Inuyasha. Did you not notice the holy power coming off of him? If you had pushed him far enough he could have purified your ass."

The Lava god, or formally mentioned as InuYasha, just grunted. "Keh...You worry too much, Miroku...Besides I doubt that little pipsqueak could have hurt me anyways."

Clenching her backpack strap, she tried to hear what Miroku said in reply, but their group had started walking after that and was to far a way for her to eavesdrop on.

'_Pipsqueak,_ _am I? I'll show that mutt who the short one is...I just might knock him down a few pegs because of that comment…'_

**Chapter 2**

Kagome sighed as she slouched in her desk, drumming her fingers from boredom. What was the point of homeroom anyways? To keep students at school longer than was really necessary? What, 6 hours wasn't enough? Homeroom wasn't somewhere you learned; all it was a waste of 15 minutes that could be used to do more interesting things then just sitting around contemplating your naval.

"Akiro."

"Hmm?" She said, without looking up from her fingers.

"You're buddy from the hallway is here. Looks mad too."

Finally looking up, she could see that to her right, Lava god was sitting two rows over, near the front of the class. Some of the boys that she remembered seeing with in the hall now surrounded his desk, chatting aimlessly with him about god knows what.

Obviously, Lava god didn't though, because he seemed more focused on glaring at Kagome in the back corner.

'_Guess he's still mad about what happened in the hall.'_ She thought. '_If he thinks I'm going to apologize, he's got another thing coming.'_

And so the glaring contest commenced.

Souta sighed. Starting any type of commotion in their new setting wouldn't help their situation, even if it was just a small fight. They didn't need the attention newspapers and T.V. stations might give to them. '_I better stop her before she does anything to jeopardize our new life.'_

Easier said than done.

Looking at the teacher to make sure he wasn't looking, Souta stuck his foot out and kicked Kagome's desk, to get her attention. It worked.

Feeling her desk suddenly jar to the left, Kagome shifted her glare from dog boy to her brother.

"What?"

"Do you know what would happen if there was suddenly a fight between two students, at one of the highly thought of high school? Even if it wasn't popular, a fight between a half-demon and mi—uh priest would give enough reason for the news stations to start plastering your face all over the city. Do you really want that?"

Kagome's eyes soften, and knew that what her brother said was true. They'd have to start all over again, create whole new lives once more. Shaking her head, she answered her brother, "No. Sorry. I got carried away."

Secrecy was the utmost importance to them; not trying to settle scores with irate demons who thought they were better than everyone else.

Kagome turned back around in her seat, and started her drumming of-the-fingers once more.

'_It's going to be a long year.'_

"And so I said to the guy, 'Swiss cheese!'"

Laughter rang around one of the crowded lunch tables in the courtyard. Girls were present, being able to share their lunch time with the guys. Whoever thought of putting an all-boys school across the street from an all-girls school wasn't very bright, or very generous, depending on the position of the matter.

"Oh, Miroku, you have the bestest jokes ever!" A blonde giggled, batting her eyelashes at him. Her shirt, if that's what you could call it, could barely contain the bouncing contents inside.

Miroku said, without taking his eyes off her chest, "If you like, I could tell you more at my place later tonight."

"But aren't you're parents out of town?" She questioned, looking confused.

Miroku's eyes glazed over, and breathed, "Thank god."

Before she could respond, an empty lunch tray smacked down onto the top of his head. Miroku fell to the ground, clutching his head. Trying to focus his eyes, he turned to look up at his attacker.

'_..._O_h no...'_

"You pervert! So much for that promise you made me, saying you'd stop flirting with other girls."

"Sango, my love! There was nothing perverted about my invitation. You'd be there too, of course."

"Save it! When you want to admit to your lechery, talk to me. I _might_ take you back." With that said Sango, stalked off, towards the cafeteria to get her food. Once she did, she started to look for another table to sit at; somewhere she wouldn't have to deal with her so-called boyfriend.

Seeing an almost empty table, she headed for it.

The two boys looked up when they saw another lunch tray at their table. Looking at each other in confusion, they turned back to the girl that suddenly decided to sit with them.

She had long brown hair, pulled up into a high ponytail that swung left and right as she fell into her chair. Her pink shirt was form fitting and overlapped a little bit of her denim skirt. The one on the right to her looked at her clothes longingly, envying the girl's freedom to wear those clothes.

He shrugged, and turned to the girl who was now stabbing the lettuce onto her fork. "Uh… Hi. Do you need something?"

Looking up at him, she snapped, "No, why? Do I need a reason to sit here? It's a free country."

Taken aback by her attitude, his brother snapped back, "If you're going to take your anger out on us, than you can go. We didn't say you couldn't sit here." She widened her eyes, not expecting that respond.

She looked back down at her salad, guilty.

The envious one continued, but in a softer tone, "My question wasn't appropriate, and I apologize. We don't know you and wasn't expecting anyone to sit with us."

Looking up at him, Sango thought, '_This guy is sweet, if not a little old fashion. What teenage guy talks like that?' _Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she sighed. "No, I'm sorry. Let's start over. Hi, I'm Sango."

"Akiro and he's Haku, my brother."

"Hey." Not recognizing them, she asked, "Are you the new guys?" They nodded. "So, which one of you stood up to Inuyasha?"

"That'd be me." Akiro raised his hand. "Why, you know him?"

"Yeah, he's a friend of mine. Just to warn you, Yash won't hesitate to fight you, even if you are human. I wouldn't push him to much, if you don't want to end up in the hospital."

Akiro nodded, taking the advice to consideration, but still rolled his eyes. "I'm not saying I can take him, but I am saying I'm not afraid of him. If he wants to start something, I won't back down." Haku kicked him under the table, and glared at him. "Ouch! Okay! Don't worry; I'm not going to instigate him so he has the need to fight me." Bringing his leg up, he rubbed his shin. "I think you bruised me! Butt head!"

Sango watched all this, not really sure how to make of it. This Akiro guy wasn't afraid to fight Yash, yet it seemed important to Haku that he didn't at all. Why'd did it matter to him at all?

'_They're hiding something…'_

"Aw, man! I think she cracked my skull this time!"

"You deserved it, you perv. I would have done the same thing if I hadn't seen her heading towards us."

"You saw her, and you didn't warn me?! Some friend you are Kouga."

Kouga rolled his eyes. "Like I said, you deserved it." Turning away from the moaning lecher, he focused on the red haired babe cuddling next to him. "Hey Ayame, do you want to hang out tonight? My car is working again."

Ayame looked up at him, and then glanced over at the direction she saw Sango go. "As much as I'd love to see you struggle turning that piece a junk on, I think I'm needed more at Sango's house. She'll probably want to rant about her stupid, cheating boyfriend."

"I'm not cheating!"

Ignoring him, Kouga also looked at the cafeteria doors Sango disappeared behind. He sighed. Women. Why did they always have to talk about their problems? "Okay. Tomorrow then? That movie you wanted to see is coming out, we could go see that."

"Uh…actually, Kouga baby, I've already have plans to go see it with the girls." She looked up at his, apologetically. "You wouldn't want to see it anyways, it's a chick flick. There's no action to it at all."

Sighing again, he leaned down to kiss her forehead as a sign of forgiveness, and looked back at the guys sitting at the table. '_Guess I'm stuck with these losers tonight. They really need to get girlfriends.'_

Glancing at one of his single friends, he saw that he was glaring at his fists, looking like he was trying to contain his anger. "Yo, Yash, what's stuck up your ass?"

Everyone turned to look at the said hanyou. He looked up himself, seeing everyone staring at him. Glaring at Kouga, he grunted. "Keh…none of you're business, wolf."

"You still mad you got told off by some short human?"

"Keh."

Kouga rolled his eyes. Just because someone ran into him in the hall, he has to get pissed off. The guy seriously needs some anger management.

"This isn't like you Yash. You would have let it go if it was one of the freshmen that ran into," Miroku chimed in, forgetting his pain for the moment.

Yash turned his glare to him. "Shut up, I'm not mad about that." Looking back at his clenched fists, he continued. "Something about that guy…I don't know...he just pisses me off. Not only that, but his scent seemed kind of off. It was like he was trying to hide it…his brother too."

"Yeah I noticed that too. I wonder what they're trying to hide, if they got to mask their scent." Kouga agreed.

Inuyasha flexed his fingers, thinking one thing.

'_I might not know now, but I'm determined to find out.'_

After talking to the brothers a little more, she decided that they weren't so bad to hang out with. She found out the Akiro was the older of the two, and was a junior like her. Haku, though, was just a sophomore.

Sango studied Akiro, as he ate his lunch. Something about him was different, but she couldn't figure out what it was. Glancing over at Haku at her left, who was also eating, she tried to compare the two, to see if she could figure out what was bothering her with Akiro.

One thing she noticed, was that, compared to his brother, Akiro's facial features were softer, not as pronounced and defined as Haku. It was very feminine.

Sango shrugged it off, not thinking anything of it. Akiro wasn't the only one she knew who had a certain feminine shape to their appearance. Although, Sesshomaru looked manly compared to Akiro. Sango giggled at the thought.

Akiro looked up at Sango, and was about to ask her what was funny, when another lunch tray was placed on the table, across Sango. Looking to the right, he saw another girl that decided to join them.

This girl had light brown hair as well, but had only part of her hair in a ponytail. Her outfit was the same as Sango's but her shirt was white, and had a picture a monkey's head on it, with headphones on.

"Oh my gosh, Sango! I just heard from Kelly what happened with you and Miro. He is so stupid, I can't believed he flirted with her, even after all that he said to you, so you know what I was thinking? We should get the girls together and jump him after school. That'll show him!" The girl rambled on, making it hard for the rest of them to keep up with all that she said.

Akiro shook his head, not even bothering to try to figure out anything the girl said and its meaning. All he could get out of it was that she knew Sango, and that some guy was flirting with a girl that he wasn't suppose to.

He looked to Sango, for some type of explanation for this strange girl.

"Uh, hey Rin. This is Akiro, and Haku. They're the new guys at the school." Sango mentally sighed, wishing that Rin hadn't brought up the pervert. She didn't want to talk about him, and hopefully her quick introduction of the brothers would distract her from the topic Sango didn't want to discuss at the moment.

"Oh my gosh, I am so sorry! Where are my manners? Hi, I'm Rin." She said, while shaking their hands. "Wait…new guys? The ones that almost fought Inu?"

Akiro rolled his eyes. It seems he's already earned himself a reputation, and only on the first day no less.

"Yeah, that's him." Sango said, pointing to Akiro.

"Wow...I don't think I've ever met anyone to do that...well outside of his friends, of course." She looked back at her food. A second later, her head shot back up and looked at Sango. "Oh! You know what, Sango? Sesshy is taking me to dinner tonight! I can't wait! You should come over to help me get dressed; I don't know what to wear, or what to do with my hair. Gosh why is it so hard for girl's hair to cooperate the way you want it I mean seriously!"

Rin continued to chatter on about difficulties girls go through, but Akiro blocked her out, knowing that trying to follow Rin's train of thought would be a useless feat.

Akiro and Haku stood from the table. "We've got to go. It was nice meeting you two." They nodded to the two girls and then left the cafeteria. Rin didn't stop talking as Akiro spoke, instead just waved at them. Sango waved as well, but looked up at them as they left.

Akiro dumped his tray in the trash, setting it on top the counter next to the can. After Haku did the same, they left the cafeteria, heading towards the courtyard.

"That was interesting." Haku commented, as they walked out the doors to the outside. "Would you consider them new friends?"

Akiro looked at him from the corner of his eye. "Let's stick with acquaintances." Looking forward again, he continued. "I don't think forming any type of relationships would be smart. We don't know how long we'll be here before He finds us again."

"Do you really think He'll find us this time? I don't think He was expecting us to leave the country. Maybe we'll finish high school before he shows up again."

The hope was evident in Haku's voice, and it pained Akiro to know that it was his entire fault they were living this lie, this secret life. His brother deserved a normal life, yet because of his one stupid mistake, neither of them could live as themselves any longer.

Stopping at where he was, he turned to his brother. Grabbing his shoulders, he said in a whisper, "Haku...I'm not going to stop you from creating friendships, but just know that at any moment He can show up, no matter what country we hide in. With His resources, He could find the Holy Grail if He wanted." He paused looking into his brother's eyes. "I'm only warning you, because I know how hard it is to leave your friends, and especially..." he took a deep breath, "...especially those that you've created a relationship with, as more than friends."

Haku looked at his brother, seeing him struggle with what his life had been like in the past. Grabbing his brothers shoulders as well, looking around to make sure no one was close enough to hear him, he whispered back, "If you weren't suppose to be a guy right now, I'd hug you." Haku grinned.

Akiro laughed, and let go of his shoulders, Haku doing the same. Slinging an arm around his shoulders, he said, "I think this will do for now." Leaning closer to his ear he whispered, "When we get home, you can hug me."

Haku chuckled, and nodded his head. Even though they were in hiding, being people they weren't, at that moment, he and his brother knew that no matter what happened, they'd have each other and would never feel alone.

With that thought, they walked to their next class, unaware of the golden eyes that watched them, and the moment they had together a few minutes before.

Okay, so thats the second chapter. I wrote it all in one day, too. I'm so proud of myself. lol. So tell me what you think, and if you have any questions at all, anything i didn't make clear in the chapter. Like i said, i wrote this in one day, and i posted it without it being read over. The only think i checked was spelling. I was just too excited to finally have the second chapter up.

Sorry again for the long wait, and i'll definitely be working on the third chapter. I promise that you won't have to wait another year for it to be posted.

Review please!

KC


	3. Chapter 3

**_Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha, never had, never will. He, unfortunately, belongs to Rumiko Takahashi...:'(_**

If you're reading this, then I'd like to thank all those who reviewed. I'm glad that those who don't really like high school fics are enjoying mine so far, and I hope I'm able to keep you all interested. High expectations, but I think I can handle it, haha.

This chapter has given me a lot of trouble, going over it multiple times so that everything makes sense to you. Also, I didn't want to reveal to much this soon into the story, but the background info that was given was needed to understand a decision that Kagome makes.

It's the longest chapter I've ever written. A reason for this is that I seem to be having a lot of time on my hands, mostly because its summer, with no school and all. I was hoping to get a job this summer, but unfortunately I still haven't heard anything from the places I applied at for an interview. I just got to keep pushing for it, though, I guess. It's harder to get a part-time job these days, at least where I live…

Okay, so I'm gonna stop rambling, and let you read the chapter now, if you're even reading this in the first place.

--

**Recap:**

Haku looked at his brother, seeing him struggle with what his life had been like in the past. Grabbing his brothers shoulders as well, looking around to make sure no one was close enough to hear him, he whispered back, "If you weren't suppose to be a guy right now, I'd hug you." Haku grinned.

Akiro laughed, and let go of his shoulders, Haku doing the same. Slinging an arm around his shoulders, he said, "I think this will do for now." Leaning closer to his ear he whispered, "When we get home, you can hug me."

Haku chuckled, and nodded his head. Even though they were in hiding, being people they weren't, at that moment, he and his brother knew that no matter what happened, they'd have each other and would never feel alone.

With that thought, they walked to their next class, unaware of the golden eyes that watched them, and the moment they had together a few minutes before.

--

**Chapter 3**

"Hey…"

"…"

"Hey, new kid!" A boy with light brown hair called in a hushed tone.

"Do you think he's deaf?" Another boy asked, with reddish brown hair and green eyes.

"Nah, I saw him tense up when I called him." The first boy answered.

The boy across from his scoffed, and turned to face him. "That doesn't mean anything, Kohaku."

Kohaku glared at him. "Shut up, Nate, and yes it does."

"No, it doesn't, and you're an idiot." Nate glared back.

"You're both idiots!" said the so-far quiet green-eyed boy.

"Stay out of this, Shippo!" They growled together, still glaring at each other.

Shippo rolled his eyes, and turned back to the person next to him, who started the whole thing, unintentionally. He could see a small twitch in his eyebrow, probably from the annoying boys behind him.

"You're name is Haku, right?" Without taking his eyes off the board, he nodded. Looking back up at the teacher, Shippo leaned forward slightly and whispered, "Where you from?"

Haku had to think about that for a moment. He knew that this Shippo person wasn't someone to be wary about, but he knew that Akiro would be mad if he let slip to anyone where they were actually from. He said the first thing that came to mind. "Canada."

The boys behind him, who until then had still been glaring at each other, turned to look at him at the sound of his voice.

Kohaku studied his face, and then said, "Really? You don't look Canadian. You look more oriental to me."

Without panicking, Haku turned to the boy sitting diagonal from him and explained, "That's because my dad's Japanese and my mom is only half white." It was sort of the truth, and little bit that they knew wouldn't hurt his families situation.

"Cool," said Nate, the boy behind him. "Do you—" He stopped mid-sentence, and looked at something standing in front of Haku.

Haku slowly turned around, seeing the teacher standing to the right of his desk. Looking up at him sheepishly he apologized, and stared down at his hands until the teacher walked away. With the teacher's back towards him he turned to the three boys quickly, only to glare accusingly at them, before turning back around in his seat.

_'This better not be an every day occurrence…'_

--

Akiro stood by the small tree in the front courtyard of the school, waiting for his brother to show up. He told him to meet him there after school, so they could head home together, but after 10 minutes, Akiro couldn't see his brother anywhere.

Sighing, he looked back down at his phone in his hand to check the time once more. '_Where is that little snot?_' He glanced back up, searching for his brother through the crowd. _'I'll give him 5 more minutes. If he isn't out by then, I'm leaving him.'_

"Hey pipsqueak!"

_'Not now…'_ Akiro turned around to where the voice had called. Standing 5 feet away, Inuyasha stood, his friend surrounding him like they did in the hallway. Akiro mentally rolled his eyes. _'One against three, plus spectators. This screams fight._' Focusing back onto Inuyasha, he said, "You want something?"

"Yeah. You owe me an apology for what happened in the hallway."

"If it'll make you sleep better at night, then fine, I'm sorry…" he paused for a second, letting Inuyasha feel like he won this battle. Akiro continued, once InuYasha started to smirk at him, and his friends started to laugh, "…I'm sorry…that you are unable to see people walking in front of you. Maybe the dog in you is messing up your eyesight. You should have that checked."

Dog boy wasn't smirking anymore. Glaring at him, Inuyasha started to growl, and tensed up to leap at him for such a remark.

"Hey Akiro!"

Right before he could push off the ground, a girl ran in front of him, blocking his path from his prey.

Akiro looked at Sango in surprise. Facing him, she started to talk him as if she didn't see her friend about to jump him.

"Sango, get out the way!" Inuyasha growled.

"Sango, my love, what are you doing?" Miroku asked in confusion. "Do you know this guy?"

Sango turned to look at him coldly, her voice just as icy. "If I didn't know him, I wouldn't know his name, now would I?" She turned to face them, standing next to Akiro, and hooked her arm with his. "He's a new friend, and a much better person than you."

"Uh…"Akiro glanced back and forth between Miroku and Sango. Whatever they were fighting about, he did not want to be in the middle of it. Taking his arm from Sango's he backed away from her. "It was nice seeing you again, but I've got to go." Seeing Miroku glare at him now, he knew it was best to leave.

_'Haku, you're on your own.'_

--

When Kagome got home, the house was empty save for the fat cat that was spread out onto the floor in front of the couch. _'Mom must have gone to the store…Hope she gets some more chips…'_

Kagome headed up the stairs, stepping around all the moving boxes yet to be unpacked. Sitting in front of her door was one of the boxes, marked 'Kagome', lid slightly open. The clothes inside were ones she knew she'd never wear again, and she fought to keep the tears at bay.

She clenched her eyes and fists, cursing the man that ruined her life so horribly. For five years she's been trying to hide from Him, hoping for a life without the fear of being found, someday.

If only she had kept her mouth shut at there last home in Japan, instead of trusting someone with the burden of her life. Kagome's anger from Him shifted to the boy who she thought she could depend on, to keep her secret, to help her live the life of anonymity.

The desire to want someone other than her family to know the truth weighed heavy on Kagome, so that she could feel like she wasn't alone. Her family was great, but they only knew the truth to an extent, so there was no reason for them to blame her for what happened. _'But I know… I know that I'm the one that caused the whole thing…the reason why dad isn't here with us right now…'_ The tears came now, as she fell to her knees beside the box.

She opened her eyes, and looked at the contents inside the box. Even though her vision was blurred, she could still make out the blue summer dress that was lying on top the pile of all her other girl clothes. Sniffling, she brushed her hand across the material, the silk cool to the touch.

She thought back to the strong want she had when she divulged her horrible past, and knew that it was possible to have it overwhelm her again, but she knew what could be the outcome with letting her secret be known by anyone.

'_I wish there was another way to release this stress and crave.'_

Kagome focused her gaze back to the dress, brushing her hand on top of it again.

'_What if I…?'_ She tightened her grasp on the dress, and jumped to her feet. '_That's it!'_

She smiled; feeling like it was the first after a long time. Bending down she grabbed the box, and walked into her room, her plan swimming in her head, making her smile grow in its intensity.

'_Hopefully Souta won't look too shocked…'_

--

Haku glanced around him, searching for his brother. A large crowd had gathered in the area Akiro was supposed to be, and Haku hoped he wasn't in the middle of it, especially after what they had talked about not starting anything in case of being found.

Haku sighed. It'd be just like his brother to provoke anyone who decided to mess with him. Forcing his way to the center of the mob, he prepared himself to drag out his brother from any tussle he might have gotten himself into. Once he got through the crowd, what he saw in the middle surprised him.

Instead of seeing Akiro duking it out, Haku saw the first girl from their lunch table, Sango, and a guy with a purple shirt glaring at each other. Ignoring the people around him, and the guy across from Sango, he walked towards her. '_Maybe she knows what happened to my brother.' _

"Uhm, Sango?" Tapping her arm, Haku watched from over her shoulder as the guy shifted his glare from her to him in an instant, and the glared hardened even more. Widening his eyes, he looked back at Sango, who had turned around to face him. Her glare turned into confusion, and then into recognition.

"Oh, Haku, right? What to do you need?"

"I'm looking for my brother. I was supposed to meet him here."

Sango opened her mouth to respond, but a voice from behind her beat her to it. "He ran away from the fight he knew he couldn't win, being a chick about it."

Sango and Haku both turned to arrogant voice that interrupted their conversation. Haku only noticed then that the hanyou from the hallway was there, standing behind the other boy. Mentally, Haku chuckled at the last part he said, 'being a chick about it', seeing as how it was mostly correct. He knew, though, that the reason for him walking from the fight wasn't because of his gender. _'All those fights he got himself into…he's such an idiot…' _

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he focused back onto the hanyou. "Good for him, then. At least he has the balls to do so." He knew what he said wouldn't help the matter, but he wasn't just going to stand there and listen to him insult Akiro.

Inuyasha glared at him, dropping the smirk he'd been holding since Akiro had left. It seems the whole family wanted to piss him off. "Listen you, I don't know who you think you are, but—"

"Do you have a problem with my little brother?" Another voice interrupted. Inuyasha turned around, seeing a girl standing a few feet behind him, arms crossed. Her hair was short, a few inches below her ears, and her eyes, which were glaring at him, were a stormy grey. Inuyasha looked her up and down, liking her hourglass figure and that it was defined nicely with the light blue summer dress.

He was about to respond back when he heard a gasp behind him, bringing him out of his revere. Haku ran past him, heading towards the girl. "Ak—"Haku stopped himself short, then continued. "Kikyo, what are you doing here?"

When Haku saw his sister, looking like his sister, he was shocked. He didn't think that she would be this willing to ruin everything like this. Didn't he already tell her that it wouldn't be a good idea to cause a scene? She never listened!

She looked up at him in confusion. _'Kikyo? Since when does—'_ She mentally shook her head, and shrugged. "Well, seeing as how Akiro left you here, because you took so long showing up," she gave him a small glare, to which he just smiled sheepishly, " I decided I'd come up here to get you."

"I don't need an escort, sis. I'm not ten years old anymore." Haku blushed, slightly embarrassed that his older sister was here to walk him home, right in front of the entire high school student body. He could here snickers in the crowd around them.

She rolled her eyes. She said, "I'm here, for the same reason you and Haku have to walk home together."

Haku gave up. It's hard to argue with a hypocrite about private things when you're standing in the middle of a crowd that was watching and listening to the conversation between them. _'I can't believe her. She's willing to risk everything for a fight and to walk me home…but only walks with me so that neither of us would be separated if He showed up right when we were heading home. She makes no sense...this is giving me a headache…'_

"Whatever, Kik. You can explain to mom why you are here instead of Akiro."

She tensed. She knew what he was saying, and he was right. "We'll talk about that later." She whispered, so that the entire multitude of students couldn't here her reply.

Inuyasha stood to the side of them, listening to the entire interaction with confusion. None of it made sense. What did it matter to their mother if she was the one to walk home her brother, instead of Akiro? It's like what Haku said, it's not like he's ten years old.

Noticing they were turning to leave he finally spoke up. He was not going to let another fight walk away, making him look stupid just standing there. "Hey! I'm not done talking to you!"

To Inuyasha's satisfaction, they stopped and turned around. What he wasn't expecting though, was that the girl walked up to him instead of the boy. His eyes widened in shock as she marched over to him, glaring and extended her index at him.

She started to poke him in the chest, with every word she said. "Listen buddy, I don't know who you think you are, but if you ever try to bully my little brother again, I'll purify your butt!" With that said, she turned around again, looping her arm with her brothers as she passed by him.

Inuyasha stood there, stunned. No one, besides his brother, had ever threatened him, let alone a girl. He knew he should have said something in return, so he wouldn't look like a total loser, but he didn't really care at the moment. Something about that girl, her loyalty and love for her family, the way her nose scrunched up when she was yelling at him, and by how good she smelled through the masking charm. He couldn't believe the thoughts that he was having, but again, didn't care.

He smirked.

'_Kikyo, huh?_'

--

Their walk was silent, but not an uncomfortable silence. Both were lost in their own thoughts, both similarly thinking about what had happened outside the school a few minutes ago.

The girl glanced over at the boy from the corner of her eye, and then went back to looking at the sidewalk. Breaking the silence she said, "Kikyo? Haven't heard that name in a while."

The boy shrugged. "It was a precaution. It seems I'm the only one trying to be precautious with our identity."

She winced. "I'm sorry. It's just that, last time we were caught because of…"she couldn't finish. "I mean we were so careful last time, didn't mess anything up, until the very end when I had to go blabbing our secrets to someone I thought I could trust." Her voice was strained, thinking back to that 'Once upon a time'. Shaking her head, she continued her train of thought, "I feel like we don't need to try so hard fighting to keep this secret."

Seeing his confused look, she tried to explain. "Souta…I think the reason I made the mistake in the first place is because I was getting sick of all of our secrets. I needed to just tell someone!" She took a deep breath, to calm her nerves. Thinking about the pain wasn't going to help right now. "I think that if I can act like myself just a little bit, I won't feel the need to rely on someone again."

Souta stared at her in surprise. They never talked about what happened in Japan, knowing that it pained his sister to think about it. He never blamed her for having to leave, but at least now he knew why his sister trusted that boy with their secrets. _'Kagome…'_

Sighing, she looked back up at him and smiled. "Souta, I want you to do this too. I don't want you to suffer anymore than you already have. Okay?"

Smiling back he nodded, and he slung his arm around her shoulders. "You ready for that hug now?" He asked, still looking down at her.

Kagome smiled again, and reached her arm to his opposite shoulder, resting her hand there. She faced forward again, still smiling, she replied, "Nah." From the corner of her eye, she could see Souta give her a shocked look. "Having you call me by my middle name kind of ruined that loving feeling."

He chuckled. "Well if I knew that you didn't care about your identity anymore I would have called you Kagome, but I was still being careful then."

She giggled. "That's okay. But really, my middle name? That's not really an alternate name to be called, like 'Haku' or 'Akiro'."

"Yeah, well it was quick thinking. We had more than a week to come up with those names…so there."

"Whatever, I'll let it go…for now."

"Doesn't matter. It's stuck now. That's what everyone knows you by at school…it'd be weird to change it."

Kagome stuck her tongue out at him.

_'He's right, though. My new name, I guess, is Kikyo Shizukana.'_

--

"Look, I know we got off on the wrong start yesterday and I want to say I'm so—" Inuyasha choked on his words. The word 'sorry' was stuck in his throat, and he couldn't voice it out loud. _'This is pathetic! Why can't a say that word?! So—…I can't even think it!'_ He growled at himself. "What I mean to say is that I apolo—…ugh, what's wrong with me!"

Inuyasha looked up at his reflection in the mirror. "If I can't apologize to my own reflection, I have no hope to saying to anyone else." He growled again, and left his bathroom, going into his room to finish getting ready for school. The whole night Inuyasha was plagued with thoughts of that girl, of Kikyo. He didn't even really talk to her and he was already hoping to see her again today. 'I wonder if she goes to the all-girls school across the street…"

He was brought out of his thoughts when his brother came in. _'Stupid bastard can't even knock…' _

"Hurry up, baka, we have practice today."

"Yeah, I know." His brother turned to leave, with Inuyasha right behind him, his backpack in hand.

Sesshomaru looked back at his silent brother. It was unusual for Inuyasha to be this silent in the morning, and Sesshomaru told him so. "What? No hissy fits today?"

Inuyasha didn't say anything. He continued to stare at the ground in hard concentration.

Sesshomaru suddenly stopped in front of him, halfway down the hallway. Inuyasha, though, didn't notice, and ran into him, falling back from the sudden impact.

Inuyasha glared up at his brother. "What the hell, Sessh?"

Sesshomaru leaned up against the wall, looking at his brother. He sighed and shook his head, then asked, "What is that small brain of yours thinking so hard about, that you didn't even hear my question?" He extended his hand to Inuyasha, helping him to his feet.

Dusting the invisible dust off his jeans, Inuyasha just grunted, "Keh," and proceeded towards the stairs.

Sesshomaru followed behind shortly, studying his brothers back. He had a feeling what was distraction his brother. Sesshomaru was there when the girl had showed up, threatening his brother to stay away from her family.

Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes, as he thought back to the strange girl. Even though she too wore a scent masking charm like her brothers, he was able to detect a slight hint of her true aroma. Her anger made it stronger, almost overpowering her charm.

Sesshomaru had his suspicions about those new students, and the arrival of their sister increased it more so. Their weird conversation as they headed to class from lunch, the reason for using masking charms, and the small exchange between the girl and her younger brother all added up to something very intriguing.

_'This year is going to be very interesting…_'

--

Akiro shifted his gaze around him, looking for anything suspicious that would cause the hairs on the back of his neck to stand like they were. When he and his brother first stepped onto campus, his sense of self preservation intensified.

Nothing was out of ordinary, though, when he glance around him to find whatever caused his discomfort.

It didn't help that Inuyasha seemed to be staring at him. If he was glaring, it would have been a different story, but he was just staring at him with a look of frustration on his face. All throughout homeroom and any passing period they crossed paths in, his gaze would never waver.

He wasn't the only one, either. His friend, Miroku, wouldn't stop glaring at him. He had three classes with the guy, and was relieved in each class to here the bell ring to be released.

_'If looks could kill…'_ Akiro thought, as he walked out of fourth hour, and headed to the cafeteria.

As usual, the room was crowded, and Akiro pushed his way through the people to get where the tables were set up. Once there, he began to look for an empty table, knowing it'd be awhile for Haku to show up from his class that was on the other side of the school.

Finding one in the far corner next to the doors leading to the courtyard, Akiro started to head towards it.

Golden eyes followed his movements, watching him as he reached the empty table and started to pull out his lunch. Glancing around the room for the other boy, Inuyasha decided it safe to head over to the table now. '_I know that if I have an audience, I won't be able to do this.'_

Akiro's hair on his body stood up again, and he looked around him again. Sweeping the room for what unnerved him, he saw what the reason was most likely for it, heading straight towards him.

'_Now what does he want?'_

--

Inuyasha faltered slightly in his stride when Akiro looked at him. He wasn't expected to be noticed until he got to the table, but then he remembered that Akiro wasn't a normal human, having spiritual powers and all.

He straightened his back, more determined to get this over with, and fast. Who knew when his brother would show up?

Pulling out the chair that was across from Akiro, he sat down, looking anywhere but the boy in front of him.

Akiro was confused, and it showed on his face. He wasn't entirely surprised to see him walking towards him, expecting some sort of altercation between them from the way he stared at him all day, but that changed when Inuyasha sat down at his table. Now he didn't know what to expect from the hanyou.

"Do you need something?"

Inuyasha jumped at the sound of his voice, looking up at him. A small blush painted across his face. Trying to cover up his embarrassment, he scowled and said, "It's a free country…I can sit here if I want." Seeing Akiro scowl back at him at his tone and comment, Inuyasha mentally cursed himself. '_Baka! This is not how to start a conversation!'_

Akiro started to collect his stuff from the table, and retorted, "You're right. You sit here, and I'll find another table to sit at."

"No, wait!" Inuyasha panicked now, thinking he'd never get to say what he needed to. Seeing Akiro pause, he took the chance to explain. "You're right…I need to say something."

He sat back down slowly, puzzled by Inuyasha's sudden change.

Inuyasha sighed. Looking down at the table, he mumbled his apology. Akiro leaned forward, asking him to repeat what he said. He growled low in his throat, and said a louder and a more intelligible, "I'm sorry," waiting for Akiro to laugh in his face for giving up their small war.

Akiro sat back in his chair, eyes wide. He definitely wasn't expecting that. He could tell by the frustrated look on Inuyasha's face, and by his earlier antics that day, saying those words wasn't easier for him.

He smiled a little, and chuckled softly. "It's cool. You have to admit, it was a little fun, though." Inuyasha's head shot up, hearing his words. Holding his hand out across the table, Akiro continued, "Start over?"

Inuyasha smirked, taking the offered hand and shaking it. "Yash."

"Akiro."

With things settled, they thought to the year to come, both having the same idea as Sesshomaru…

'_It's going to be an interesting year…'_

--

Well that's it. If you're confused by anything just let me know. I'll try to see if I can edit it a bit more or explain it to you in the next chapter.

Review!

KC


	4. Chapter 4

_**Disclaimer: I don't own the Inuyasha series of characters; they all belong to Rumiko Takahashi.**_

(This chapter isn't beta'd. I read over it a couple of times, but there's no guarantee I got all the typos and grammar errors. I'll edit it later; I wanted to post this up before school started…Also, i forgot to thank Heartless Lonely Kairi for reading over my first three chapters for me, and finding any errors i made. If i didn't want to get this chapter up so much i would have sent it to her, as well, but i didn't want my readers to wait longer for this chapter.)

This chapter is written in Akiro/Kagome's POV. I wanted to try that out again after attempting it in the previous version of this story (if you never read the original don't worry about it). I thought I did pretty well with that, so I'm trying it again. Tell me what you think in a review!

Note: Kagome will still refer to Souta has Haku when she's with others, but reverts back to Souta when she gets home…just wanted to make sure that was clear, and understandable. It's my way of keeping her in character, to keep the image of her acting like a guy when she's out in public, but reverts back to her true female self when she's at home.

0.o

**Recap:**

He smiled a little, and chuckled softly. "It's cool. You have to admit, it was a little fun, though." Inuyasha's head shot up, hearing his words. Holding his hand out across the table, Akiro continued, "Start over?"

Inuyasha smirked, taking the offered hand and shaking it. "Inuyasha."

"Akiro."

With things settled, they thought to the year to come, both having the same idea as Sesshomaru…

'_It's going to be an interesting year…'_

* * *

"Finally! The weekend! I thought it'd never get here…"

Inuyasha's excitement caused many eyes to look over at us, as we headed to his truck in the parking lot; I did my best to ignore it, thinking about how I always seem to make my life complicated.

My enthusiasm was not on the same level as his, because of this complication. Yes, I was glad that it was the weekend, but the situation I just found myself in didn't help any excitement I might have had.

I blame Yash…

Wednesday, Inuyasha invited my brother and me to hang out with his other friends on Saturday. Nothing to horrible with that, but today, at lunch, Inuyasha mentioned my 'sister' coming…

And there goes the excitement…as well as the blood in my face…

Lucky for me, though, the bell rang for next class before I could open my mouth. '_Not like I was going to say anything…more like stutter over some stupid excuse that would make no sense whatsoever.'_

I thought about it for the rest of the day. Both of my personalities wanted to go, but I knew only one would could make an appearance. '_I sound like some psychopath with alternate personalities…which is kind of true…damn it!'_

I even asked for Haku's advice, but all he had to say was that I got myself into this mess and I had to get myself out of it.

Annoying, know-it-all pest…

I made my decision in my last period, knowing that it would be a bad idea for 'Kikyo' to make another appearance right now. The only problem was I didn't have an excuse as to why she wasn't coming.

The end of the day came too fast, and I still didn't have something to say to Inuyasha; at the moment, he was blabbering about some important details about tomorrow. I blocked it out, still pondering about what to say to him if he asked about 'Kikyo' again. '_Okay…I have to think like myself to get this…what was my first impression of Yash…when I 'first' saw him…he was picking on Haku…'_

Oh!

I got it! Now I just have to wait for Inuyasha to bring up the conversation again. No way was I just going to randomly blurt it out like some spaz…

"She's not coming."

So much for that…

Inuyasha looked down at me, confused at what I said. "What are you talking about, spaz?"

'_Grr…'_ A tick formed in my eyebrow, and I decided to forget about it, and go back to the original plan, and let him bring it up. "Never mind, dog boy."

He scowled, liking my nickname for him, as much as I liked spaz. In other words, not so much…

"So can your sister come?"

I tried to stop my hand from rising, but the urge overpowered my will power, and I hit my forehead in aggravation. '_Why does he have to be so dense?'_

I glared at him, seeing him confused again, this time by my actions. I sighed, the tension in my shoulders leaving. '_The poor boy probably has a short attention span…and a really bad memory; try not to be too harsh.'_

"She can't come. I said that, remember? I know you only have half a brain, but still…"

Not harsh at all…

Seeing his ears droop a little, I was about to say I was just kidding, when he asked why she couldn't come, seeming as if he didn't hear the end of my statement.

I looked at him, puzzled by his expression. "She can hold a grudge. She's not really happy with you right now, and isn't ready to forgive your bully antics towards Haku," I said. "She'll come around eventually though," I hastily added, as I saw his ears droop even more.

He contemplated that for a little bit, and then raised his puppy ears up again. He smirked a little and looked at me from the corner of his eye. "Only Haku? She's not worried about you?"

"I can take care of myself."

"Oh, yeah? How well is that going for ya?"

"Obviously better that you think. I'm not a little girl," Shut up, "and I don't need one to protect me."

"Is it that, or does your sister just not like you as much as Haku?"

"Yes, it's 'that'; and about how well we get along, let's just say we're better at talking to each other than you and your brother are."

"…"

Hah! I win!

He knew it too, just grunting in irritation. It was always a competition between us when we were having a verbal war. It was easier than trying to rearrange each other's faces…

Reaching his car, I walked around to the passenger side of it. '_It's not a car…it's a truck.'_ I mimicked Inuyasha's voice in my head, when I told him what a nice 'car' he had…all but bit my head off for it…

The radiant red truck almost stuck out of the parking spot, having a very long bed. The pick-up truck had a large cab, too, having two row benches instead of just the one. I asked him what he had to pay for this beast, and the number he gave me had my mouth run dry. He just shrugged it off, saying that 37,071 wasn't a large amount of money to his family.

I had suddenly felt very poor…

Even though he shrugged it off, I didn't push the subject, knowing it bothered him to talk about his family's royalties.

Climbing into the monster wasn't easy. Even with the step to help you into the cab, I still felt like I had to jump up to get inside. The first time, Inuyasha had to lift me up, and never let me forget it and felt the need to tell everyone else at his lunch table. Now, if he saw me struggle and offered help, I'd just glare at him.

It sucked being short…

"Speaking of your brother, where is he? Is he getting a ride from a friend or something?"

"Huh?" I flinched slightly, bringing myself back to the present. I didn't even notice that he had started driving, already turning into my neighborhood. I really got to stop zoning out like that…

"Haku, you're brother. Where is he?" Inuyasha scowled; he was irritated he had to repeat himself.

"Oh, yeah, he's staying at a friend's house for the weekend." I shrugged. "Something about a new video game he got."

Inuyasha's ears perked up actually interested about what I said. "Was it Halo 3?" He asked eagerly.

I'll never get the obsession most guys have over video games.

"Don't know, don't care." I answered him indifferently. "Besides, he was giggling like a girl when he was telling me about the plans. I'm surprised I was able distinguish any words in what he said."

"Heh…Can't blame the kid."

Pulling up to my house, I reached for the door handle, unlocking my seatbelt with the other hand. Right when I was about to pull the lever to get out Inuyasha's voice made me pause.

"Hey, tell your sister that I am sorry, and that the offer to hang with us is still open anyways."

Taken by surprise, I thought for a second as to how to respond back. I smirked, deciding on teasing him. "What's with you? You're acting like you've got a crush on Kikyo." I laughed, but it faded when he didn't join me. "Dude! You met her, like, once!"

He blushed, looking out his window. "Keh." He grunted. "I-I never said that I liked her…"

I gave him a flat look. "You didn't have to say it, stupid."

"Okay, maybe I do. Would you be willing to help me out, with smoothing things out with her?" He gave me a hopeful look, having the most perfect puppy-dog look, and I had to admit, it was hard to deny it, but…

I suddenly felt very uncomfortable talking about this.

I pulled my eyes away from his face, knowing I wouldn't be able to deny him while looking at him. "I wish I could, Yash, but uhm…"

"Aw, come on, man! I'll owe you one!"

I sighed, opting to forgo any argument about it. "Maybe…no guarantees though." I opened the door, anxious to get out before he tried to ask me to do anything else that would be impossible. Walking towards the house, I waved behind me, and reached into my pocket for my keys.

How do I get myself into these things…?

Choosing to clear my thoughts with food, I headed for the kitchen, after closing and locking the door behind me.

I lingered in the living room though, seeing another backpack sitting next to the couch. Puzzled, I kept walking towards the kitchen. Peering around the corner, I saw Souta exploring through the cabinets, his back to me.

I suddenly had a sneaky thought, and I crept closer to him, making the littlest of noises. Standing right behind him now, I gathered my breath and…

"I know you're there."

The air rushed out of my lungs, blowing some of my bangs up, and stirring some of his hair on the back of his neck.

"Butt head." I went to the table, plopping into a chair. Souta turned around, bringing a package of cookies with him to the table, grinning.

"I heard the front door open," He shrugged, "and I knew you would try something like this."

I reached for a cookie as he set them down on the table, and bit into it, still looking at him in curiosity. "So why are you here? I thought you were going to a friend's house."

He grimaced, not liking the fact that I talked with my mouth full. That was the only reason I grabbed the cookie… I lived to gross him out.

Swallowing what he had in his mouth, he answered, "I was dropped off here to collect the stuff I need. I'll be going over there in an hour or so."

"Hmmm…"

"So did you solve your problem with Inuyasha?"

It was my turn to grimace now, not liking the fact that the brat reminded me of what I was trying to suppress. "Yeah…but then the situation got worse."

"How'd that happen?"

I dropped my head into my folded arms. "He wants to date me…"

I didn't have to look up to know that Souta was stunned. "Wha…He's in to that?"

Now I raised my head, unsure as to what he meant. "What are you talking about?"

"You know…guys?"

My jaw dropped, unable to believe my brother was this dense.

"Baka, he wants to date Kikyo!"

"Oh!" Souta blushed, embarrassed he made that mistake. Shaking it off, he looked at me, suddenly serious. "You're the one that showed up at school dressed as a girl. You're the one making friends, even though, on the first day of school you said not to! You're such a hypocrite!"

I glared at him, and then grabbed a cookie from the package. Looking at it intently for a second, I looked back him. Taking him by surprise I suddenly attacked him, falling to the ground as the chair tipped back. Holding down his head, I shoved the cookie into his mouth, making him choke a little.

Kid's to smart for his own good…

* * *

"You guys are lucky I'm still letting you two go out this weekend. What a mess! Waste of cookies too…"

Soutaand I winced, sweeping up the crumbs covering the tiled floor in the kitchen. Our mom had come home from worked, to see us on the floor, wrestling with each other, both trying to shove more cookies into the others mouth. Once or twice one of us was successful, but the majority of the cookies ended up in pieces scattered across the floor.

It wasn't the first food fight we had been in with each other…

Once I was done cleaning up, I raced up the stairs to my room. Time to do a little thinking…

The kid had a point. I completely contradicted myself, making friends with Inuyasha like I did. I felt drawn to him, though. Plus, it's not easy for me to NOT make friends. Sango was an example of this. She became my friend on the first day of school!

I'm just irresistible like that, heh…

In the beginning, though, it was hard trying to be a friend with Yash, without overly insulting him like I knew I would; letting my tongue slip would have probably end any kind of truce we had. It was better, but it was still a struggle. It didn't make it any easier that his ego inflated to the size of a hot air balloon when you complimented him on something.

His arrogance brought out the worse of me…

"Akiro!"

Blinking to clear my head, I looked at Souta in my door way, holding a phone out to me. I looked at him, confused, wondering why he called me Akiro in the house, and grabbed the phone from him.

"Hello?"

"_Hey! You're going tomorrow, right?"_

Ooh…that's why…

"Hey, Sango. Yea, I'm going. Why?" I knew why, but I had to ask…

"_Oh, uh…no reason…"_

I rolled my eyes. "I can't protect you from Miroku forever." Ever since Sango stood up for me two weeks ago, on our first day of school, Miroku has got some stupid idea in his head that Sango and I are close…closer than he'd like. Sango used it to her advantage, hanging on my arm, and flirting with me, just to make him jealous even more.

Like there was anything for him to worry about…

"_Humph…By the way, I want to thank you for going along with this…if you get uncomfortable, tell me."_

"It's cool Sango. I think it is fun to act like I'm into girls."

Damn my big mouth and my inability to think before I speak! It was the first week of school still when I almost blown my cover. Sango and I had been hanging out one morning, waiting for the rest of the group to show up, seeing as how early we got there. Souta had to go see a teacher about an assignment, so left me alone with Sango, who was always early to school, in the courtyard. We had been talking, and had started to plan Sango's revenge against Miroku, when she said, 'I think it's cute when a guy gets jealous and starts to show off just to prove they're they're better guy to be with.'

That's where I made my mistake. I had giggled, and agreed with her, saying that it was hard to tell if the guy was seriously interested if he didn't react that way.

She just stood there staring at me. It took me a moment to realize what I had said, and I panicked, stumbling over my words. She just stopped me and said it was okay, that she understood. I had stared blankly at her, saying, 'you do?' She just nodded, and then said, leaning closer to me to whisper in my ear, 'It's okay if you're gay. I don't discriminate against sexual preference.' I was stunned, but relieved too, that I was still safe from being revealed.

Sango laughed on the other end of the phone. _"Okay. Well I'll see you tomorrow."_

"Yea…hey, wait; do you know what we're doing tomorrow?" I should have listened to Yash earlier…

"_Nope, Inuyasha has kept our plans to himself. I asked him, and he just smirked and said it was a surprise…oh, he did say to bring your bathing suit, though."_

"…bathing…suit...?" Oh…crap…

o.0

Well there's chapter four. I wanted it to be longer, but I wanted the suspense to fill first, haha

I made Inuyasha's car on Toyota's website as if I was going to buy it, so the price in the story is pretty accurate, at least if you were going to do it online. I added as many accessories I thought fitted, to get large sum of money it'd be worth. The price of the truck was just a small show of Inuyasha's riches…

This might be my last chapter for the summer but I will try to update once school starts, though they won't be very long. If I don't, then you know why, and I'll update on my next break where I have enough time to write another chapter. Sorry for the long wait that may, and probably will, come.

Review, tell me what you think about the first person POV. If it's not good, then I'll go back to third person, with only a couple of chapters in Kagome's POV (honestly, it's easier for me to write in her POV, but I want to make sure that the story is still enjoyable)

**KC**


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